Tennessee: Weston Wamp Goes up on TV

Congressional candidate Weston Wamp (R), the 25-year-old son of former Rep. Zach Wamp (R), today went up on television with his first ad.

Wamp, who is hoping to unseat freshman Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R) in the state’s redrawn 3rd district, also faces dairy magnate Scottie Mayfield in the Aug. 2 primary. Fleischmann succeeded the elder Wamp, who retired in 2010 to run for governor, and the new 3rd district includes much of the territory he used to represent.

His ad is unusual in that it doesn’t mention the election or the issues animating the contest.

“Liberty is dangerous,” Wamp narrates over footage of D-Day, building construction and actor John Wayne. “It’s a brave bet to leave a country in the hands of its people,” he says to video of aviator Amelia Earhart, civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates.

“And worth it every time,” he narrates to video of basketball star Michael Jordan, President Ronald Reagan and an old car driving along a highway.

“We went to the moon and played Sinatra, because no one told us not to,” he says to video of rockets and astronauts.

“Government in America belongs to ‘we the people,'” he says to images of baseball, a man on a tractor, a man on a horse and a man looking at the camera. B-roll of Wamp getting out of a Ford truck and walking with people is followed by a video of a old woman ironing and a man chopping wood with an axe. “Not the other way around,” he says.

Wamp told Roll Call his ad was backed by a one week buy that included $26,000 on broadcast and cable in the Chattanooga media market and $19,759 on district-wide cable systems. He said the buy could be extended.